What are the symptoms of schitzophrenia? How do u know if youve got it?

Question

Does anyone know?

Answer 1

You know when you the other you tells you that you are ... =p

Ok, ok, seriously now. Schizophrenia is a serious condition that occurs on different levels. Some people with the disease have halucinations, hear voices, are paranoid more than usual. Its not split personality disorder, and it doesn't always mean your "crazy" either. Some people only have mild symptoms, but over all very few people are diagnosed with this disease.

Here is a technical site about it... sure some is repetition =)



http://www.psychiatry24x7.com/bgdisplay.jhtml?itemname=schizophrenia_symptoms&page=ecall&source=yahoo&OVRAW=schizophrenia%20symptoms&OVKEY=schizophrenia%20symptom&OVMTC=standard

Answer 2

Often there is mental illness in the family. I have a friend who "had" schitzophrenia. I really don't know much about it or if it has a real and true "cure". She had two "breakdowns" and those were her only symptoms of the disease that I really ever saw.

For her they were caused by a chemical imbalance of the brain. Every time she set about to lose weight, she would have a breakdown...and during the breakdown, one of which I actually got to witness when she came on vacation with me and a bunch of other girlfriends years ago, was something I will NEVER forget. She was always a gentle, kind and witty and intelligent person but it was like she switched off and some demon took over her. It really frightened me. She would hear voices coming out of the tv (it was off) her face changed and contorted to something that was really frightening and I couldn't look into her eyes, it was like the devil was in them. Some Mexican doctor came and gave her something (I thought she was going to die...she was convulsing) but by the morning when she woke up she seemed kind of normal again. Her father arrived by then to pick her up and take her home...but I never really hung out with her any more after that because it had really frightened me. We had to take turns staying with her all night for fear she might jump off the balcony or hurt herself somehow.

She now has two sons and they have autism and one is really severe...that seems even worse to me than what she had because at least she is normal for the most part...this poor kid is a danger to himself and to others and yet they try to integrate them into the school system and society, which I understand, and yet, it's a danger to them and to others...so I don't know what the answer is.

This girls mother and grandmother suffered with mental problems too...so it seems to me that a lot of these diseases tend to be hereditary.

Answer 3

a list of the most common groups of symptoms. More on diagnosis from the source.

Thought disorder
Loosening of the structure and coherence of thought
Lack of logical connections between topics when speaking, which makes it hard for the listener to follow the conversation
Blocking, slowing or poverty of thought, which that may lead to reduction of speech

Abnormal thought content, beliefs or delusions
Delusions of persecution where the patient believes he or she is followed or the subject of elaborate plots
Delusions of reference and control, where commonplace events and situations are of individual significance and take place in relation to the individual
Delusions about the possession of thought, which may include the belief that the patients thoughts are not under his or her control, that thoughts do not originate from the self and that others can pick up or insert thoughts in the patients mind

Abnormal experiences or perceptual disturbances
Often in the form of hallucinations, where the patient hears or sees things that are not real
Auditory hallucinations, which are most commonly associated with schizophrenia, with the patient’s own thought spoken out loud or others commenting on the patients actions
Visual, olfactory and tactile hallucinations

Mood disorders
Mood alterations
Depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, excitement and facile euphoria
Disconnection between mood and other aspects of functioning, which may result in expression of different moods inappropriately, for instance laughter when telling an obviously sad story
Blunting or flattening of affect (the outward expression of mood)

Motor alterations
Increased motor function with restlessness or over-activity
Reduced function resulting in immobility of the patient
Stereotypic repetitive movement or bizarre gesturing

Changes in social function
Isolation, gradual withdrawal from social interaction, which often affect work or study performance
Poor self-care
Permanent change in underlying personality
Diagnosis
The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” of the American Psychiatry Association (DSM-II-R) lists the criteria necessary for making the diagnosis of schizophrenia
VR

Answer 4

The bare facts:

450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioural problems at any time.
About 873,000 people die by suicide every year.
Mental illnesses are common to all countries and cause immense suffering. People with these disorders are often subjected to social isolation, poor quality of life and increased mortality. These disorders are the cause of staggering economic and social costs.
One in four patients visiting a health service has at least one mental, neurological or behavioural disorder but most of these disorders are neither diagnosed nor treated.
Mental illnesses affect and are affected by chronic conditions such as cancer, heart and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Untreated, they bring about unhealthy behaviour, non-compliance with prescribed medical regimens, diminished immune functioning, and poor prognosis.
Cost-effective treatments exist for most disorders and, if correctly applied, could enable most of those affected to become functioning members of society.
Barriers to effective treatment of mental illness include lack of recognition of the seriousness of mental illness and lack of understanding about the benefits of services. Policy makers, insurance companies, health and labour policies, and the public at large – all discriminate between physical and mental problems.
Most middle and low-income countries devote less than 1% of their health expenditure to mental health. Consequently mental health policies, legislation, community care facilities, and treatments for people with mental illness are not given the priority they deserve.
Objectives

The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse provides leadership and guidance for the achievement of two broad objectives: (a) closing the gap between what is needed and what is currently available to reduce the burden of mental disorders worldwide, and (b) promoting mental health. The recently launched mental health Global Action Programme (mhGAP) focuses on forging strategic partnerships to enhance countries’ capacity to combat stigma, reduce the burden of mental disorders and promote mental health.

The objectives are pursued through strong linkages within WHO, collaboration with regional and country offices and more than 100 collaborating centres around the world and through combined action in education, social welfare, justice, rural development, women’s affairs. We ensure that our policies and interventions are evidence-based and reflect our commitment to equity, ethics, human rights and gender equality.
mental health Global Action Programme (mhGAP)

Mental health has become a major international public health concern and WHO has placed high profile focus on the importance of mental health. During 2001 the World Health Day (7 April 2001) was devoted to mental health and 155 countries celebrated the event. World Health Day on April 7, 2001

World Health Day 2001 - Greek edition [pdf 16.73Mb]
During World Health Assembly 2001, 135 Health Ministers participated in the Ministerial Roundtables on mental health to discuss mental health in all its dimensions. They vowed to improve the mental health of their populations. A Call for Action by Ministers of Health

The topic of World Health Report 2001 was mental health: new understanding, new hope. The report sheds new light on mental disorders and offers new hope to those suffering from mental disorders and to their families. This report provides a comprehensive review of what is known about the burden of mental disorders and the principal contributing factors. It examines the scope of prevention and the availability of, and obstacles to, treatment. It provides a critical review of service provision and planning and concludes with a set of far-reaching recommendations that can be adapted by every country according to its resources and needs.

World Health Report 2001 - Greek edition [pdf 8.61Mb]
The mental health Global Action Programme (mhGAP) was developed as a follow-up to the 2001 World Health Report and provides a strategy for closing the gap between what is urgently needed and what is currently available to help individuals and families affected by mental illnesses. This five-year programme prioritizes services for the most vulnerable population groups and focuses on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation for people with six priority conditions - depression, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug dependence, dementia, epilepsy, and the risk of suicide. This programme also aims to increase the responsiveness of governments to mental health concerns, to enhance services, to reduce the burden of mental disorders, and to reduce the devastating impact of stigma and discrimination.

Moving forward

The impact of WHO's efforts is already significant. Countries are beginning to act and move forward innovatively. WHO hopes to catalyze this new energy to improve the mental health situation around the world. Through the mental health Global Action Programme (mhGAP), there is the opportunity to advance the momentum generated into intensive action so that people with mental illness